An automated computer based medical history taking system is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 3,566,370, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and provides for efficient development and printout of a patient's medical history. The system includes a display for presenting questions and multiple choice answers to a patient and means for recording patient answers and for selecting subsequent questions for presentation to the patient in accordance with the answers given to previous questions. The system is thus operative in an adaptive manner to develop lines of questioning in accordance with patient answers.
The system includes a repertory of questions and associated possible answers as well as corresponding instructions for the patient, and the questioning process proceeds through the repertory of questions taking various branches in accordance with a patient's answers to previous questions. For some purposes it would be useful to provide multple pathways through the repertory to utilize only portions thereof in particular instances without necessity for answering a group of questions unimportant to a present investigation. For example, during a return visit of a patient who has previously taken an entire medical history, it is usually desirable to presently propound only those questions for updating previous information. In another instance, a patient may be complaining of medical problems with respect to a particular anatomical area, in which case it is desirable to confine the questioning process to that anatomical region.